


I'm Still Breathing

by rxateez



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: ATEEZ - Freeform, Alien Planet, Angst, Angst and Feels, Atiny - Freeform, Choi San - Freeform, Comfort/Angst, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Planet, San - Freeform, Woosan, jung wooyoung - Freeform, wooyoung - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22118704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rxateez/pseuds/rxateez
Summary: He frantically regained his balance, his head whipping from side to side as he eagerly peered around. He turned, with every move hoping something would be there. Hoping San would be there.The moons shone high above, not a care in the world. And Wooyoung finally caught his breath, enough to where he could begin moving. Feet aimed in the direction of the moons, he stepped down the hills and up them once again. After a while of walking, he heard no voices, no whispers, nothing but the quiet ambient noises of this planet’s nature.
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't necessarily a romance, which might make some of you click off, but this is a friendship story and a story that I've been meaning to continue for a long time. Seeing that I don't believe that these boys have anything romantic between them, I wanted to make a story highlighting their friendship instead. 
> 
> This story is something I've written before not as a fanfic, but I wanted to adapt it to characters/people I know somewhat well (even if I've never met them.) I'm also realizing the paragraphs aren't very long, so I hope it's detailed enough to where it's understandable.
> 
> Update: This is taking a while to continue, but now that I know where I sort of want to go, things should get better and clearer from here. :) Let me know if you like it and if you have any suggestions for me!~

The softest _hush_ of the waves was heard as light poured over against his eyelids. The boy furrowed his eyebrows, though he barely had the strength to do so. He slowly gained feeling into his body as sleep ebbed away. An almost tingling feeling, like pins and needles, but relaxing to him. 

The boy found it in him to blink open his eyes, with utter discomfort, as he wanted to stay where he was and sleep for another decade… 

A decade? How long has it been? He realized some time has passed, but he hadn’t noticed.

Dread filled him up, it crept up his body like a plague. _Did I sleep in too late?_ he thought, this mind racing. In an instant, his eyes flew open and his back lifted from the place he lay. 

He was greeted by darkness, or rather, nighttime. 

Surrounding him were hills of blue-ish sands, he noted, almost a navy blue. His dread turned quickly to awe. He stared for a long time at the hill in front of him, and he lay in a small valley between many hills. Now, he was confused. Where on Earth did all this blue sand come from? Could he be on the beach? 

_No_ , he said flatly. Nowhere on Earth had a beach like this, he’d been to many beaches in his lifetime and none could match the beauty that lay at his fingertips.

The sand was squishy, like memory foam, but soft like feathers. This sand wasn’t dry like the stuff at home, it fell off the skin without a trace left behind. And it finally occurred to the boy that he had not taken a second to look around and examine his surroundings further. However, his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he saw the blue-ish sands in front of him instead of eyeing them from his peripherals. 

He spent a long while simply gazing in awe at his surroundings. The sandy hills, the dark sky. Except he noticed that the world he sat on had this aura to it. A greenish, yellow tint. Colors that represent a lagoon.

He let out a breath. 

The sky was glittered with stars, he noticed. But the light the moons gave was unlike Earth’s because the moon was blue and the second moon was white. 

_Two moons?_ he queried. 

Before he knew it, he was stumbling to his feet. The sand squishy and refusing to allow him to gain his balance. Fear clung to his heart and his mind, and everything became blurry as he stumbled along, away from where he awoke. 

The hills that once encircled him, he now stood atop. Staring around him, he came to realize that he was in a desert. A desert of blue, a desert of the softest sand he’s ever felt. 

His heart beat at lightning-fast speed and he breathed heavily as he finally stood on top of a hill. He somehow gained his balance, but now his feet sunk into the sand ever so slightly and he adjusted to leaning on his left leg. His arms dangled by his side, while his eyes darted from the ground to the sky. 

The two moons shone in the sky like pearls. 

The boy paused to breathe, his thoughts also racing. 

_Actually, though, where am I?_

He retraced his steps, thinking about where he was prior to waking up. Last he remembers was when he was in his office and doing paperwork. But who was he with?

San. 

His coworker, a dear friend of his. Last they were doing paperwork, but how did he end up here? He squinted, deep in thought. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how long he held his breath, no matter what he did at this moment, he would never remember at that time. The boy exhaled, letting that breath go. It was no use. He couldn’t remember. But he knows he was with San last. 

“Wooyoung!” cried a voice, male, and off in the distance. 

He perked up in an instant. When he peered around in all directions, he saw nothing. But he heard the voice again. 

“Wooyoung, please! Where are you?” the voice cried again. 

His breath hitched, staring at where he heard the voice come from, and his heart pounded at the thought of someone tricking him. _Don’t let this be a joke._ But alas, he heard the voice crying more and more, and once he pinpointed the general direction the voice came from, he began running. 

His feet pushed his body forward, one step after the other, but soon enough he was stumbling up and down the hills. At one point, he fell on his hands and knees, but he kept on going. Not stopping until he reached the location of the voice. 

However, the voice continued to cry. It felt like it wasn’t getting any closer to him, no matter how far he ran. Alas, he continued forward. Until the voice cried one last time and he paused to listen again. 

“Wooyoung, I’m over here!” the voice yelled, the end lifting up in a yelp. 

The voice, he realized, was now behind him. His heart raced at the thought of the voice not belonging to San and it belonging to some alien who had captured his friend. Or worse, an alien impersonating San. 

A loud thumping against his chest made him stop completely in his tracks. Wooyoung had his hands dangling by his side and he leaned more to his right, a wave of dizziness taking him over. 

The voice ceased. 

As Wooyoung caught his breath for a second, he felt the slightest whisper against his left ear. It brushed against his ear, tickling it in the slightest. Saying, “Where could he be?” 

_That’s it._ It’d barely been a few minutes and Wooyoung was already fed up with this nonsense. 

In one fell swoop, he turned over his left shoulder and reached out with his arms. This action caused him to lose his balance, as there was nothing behind him and nothing in sight. 

He frantically regained his balance, his head whipping from side to side as he eagerly peered around. He turned, with every move hoping something would be there. Hoping San would be there. 

The moons shone high above, not a care in the world. And Wooyoung finally caught his breath, enough to where he could begin moving. Feet aimed in the direction of the moons, he stepped down the hills and up them once again. After a while of walking, he heard no voices, no whispers, nothing but the quiet ambient noises of this planet’s nature.


	2. 2

Hours had passed. Wooyoung had been walking towards the moons for a long time, too long. The land had finally flattened out, but his legs still felt heavy. As if concrete clung to his skin, to his shoes. Heaviness passed through him in waves, but this wave came on stronger. His eyes fluttered, his knees gave out, and he fell onto the sand on his hands and knees.

After the voice ceased, all he’s been hearing was ambient nature sounds.

The voices had begun again, a while ago. Wooyoung didn’t bother following because the voices were following him instead. He had given up, walking and walking until he fell to his knees.

He inhaled sharply, and when he exhaled, it was a cry. “Why?” he screamed into the sky. “What are you doing?” He kept trying to breathe, to calm himself, but nothing was working. He felt stressed, afraid, unaware of what was actually happening around him.

“Goddamnit,” he scoffed. All it took was one thought, and he was up on his feet.

☾

San’s eyes flew open with an inhale accompanying it. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the darkness. The stars above radiating bright white in color and dazzling the land with light. San breathed deeply, feeling the fresh air pierce his lungs with ease.

He placed his hands down to lift himself from his position, face down on the sandy beach. Sandy? he thought to himself. Since when did he live near a beach? The sand desperately tried to eat his hands, but he managed to place himself on his rear before the sand could do anything. His breaths were steady, and he stared around for a few moments.

The blue sand reflected darker, seemingly swallowing the light from the stars, but a hint of navy blue could be detected from the little bits of light that freckled the land.

San stared. Sleep clinging to his eyelids.

He yearned for going back to sleep, the sand like a memory foam mattress. The hill he sat on was rather comfortable, but something was wrong with his environment. This wasn’t his house. This wasn’t his bed. Nothing was his, and he felt this dread sink into his stomach. Where could he possibly be that he managed to get from his office to a beach in just a few hours?

Again, he breathed. Steadying himself, but suddenly his mind shuffled. Thoughts of homesickness flared up in his mind. He couldn’t stop this anxiety that crept up his legs like fire. It began burning, he coughed, choking.

 _What is happening?_ he cried internally.

His throat grew tight and he coughed violently as he tried to clear it. Nothing was working. He was being choked all of a sudden. By who?

In the midst of his panic, he managed to turn his body to look. San saw above him, on top of the hill, a group of people. They weren’t people, they were humanoid, but not humans. They had human-like features, but their arms were…longer and somehow reminded him of monkeys. Large horns erupted from a few of their heads. Their stance was very human-like.

Beside them were these huge snakes…or they looked like snakes. All they were were shadows, but he knew he saw small sparks flying off their bodies.

 _I am not home, am I?_ he thought. He could barely make out these features, there was more to be said about these creatures, but he began to lose his sight. Blurred images, these creatures became nothing but blobs of color. San’s eyes fluttered shut. Once his eyes closed, he could not open them again.

☾

A faint hissing noise crept up in the shadows. Wooyoung, stricken with exhaustion, turned at the sound. Barely able to do so, he squinted into the mild darkness.

Nothing. Not even crickets.

He came back to his senses, exhaustion suddenly not in the picture, and peered deeper into the darkness. The sandy hills off in the distance weren’t blue anymore, they were too far. They became a shade of deep navy blue.

Wooyoung was standing in one place for too long.

 _If I stop now, I’ll never be able to continue_ , he thought to himself. After that thought, he continued, toes pointed in the direction of the moon. He trodded for only a few moments before the hissing began once again. This time, in front of him.

Again he stopped. Taking a look around to examine his surroundings. Towards the moons were more hills, behind him and to his left and right were flat desert land.

He swallowed. The hissing ceased for only a few more moments, before continuing again. The hills were his only option. However, something or someone could be lying on the other side. Wooyoung felt his heart become heavy, as he thought of the consequences of his decisions. If he followed the hissing, he could be running in circles. If he went over those hills, he could die or someone could kill him. There could be a straight cliff. There were too many variables in play.

Wooyoung stopped breathing, listening for the hissing once more. Reluctantly, the hissing began again.

His feet picked up. Suddenly he found himself running towards the hills. The hissing picked up pace like he did. He ran and ran until his lungs gave out and then some. The hills grew closer and closer until he was at the foot of them. These hills weren’t small, they raised up into the sky higher than his height.

Wooyoung stared upwards, it was more like a mountain, and he exhaled before beginning his trek up.

The hills were steep. Wooyoung eventually landed on his hands and knees, crawling to the top. When he reached the top, he stumbled to his feet and looked up, only to find…

...Water. He found water.

It was an ocean, to be specific. The water touched the horizon, while the desert stretched far out to his left and right and curved up towards his right. In whatever direction that was. He stared in awe, the water flickering with this greenish-blue aura and lagoon-like. The water was a mix of teal blue and lime green, glowing with such decency on this planet, it made up for this situation. It appeared as dark and glowing as the aurora borealis. Not only was it glowing, it was clearer than the summer’s sky. Not cloudy, not dirty, but simply was transparent.

As he peered downwards at the water, he noticed the sand dipped farther into the water than he anticipated. The water, clear as day, was not hiding the fact that the ocean went deep into the planet.

His mind eased. Yet, still buzzed with thoughts. Eyes locked on the ocean beneath him, he steadied his breath and forgot about what he was doing at that moment. The ocean pushed against the long shore and the environment seemed to only buzz and lightly crash against the land.

For a moment, he felt peaceful. No anxiety, no fear.

He blinked.

Another second went by and he looked up, peering across the ocean. A building could be seen on land far out. Wooyoung took another look a the ocean, he noticed the clear waters ran deep. But what he found interesting was he could not spot any fish. Nothing beneath the waters. Just sand, rocks, and a few corals.

 _I can swim_ , he reminded and repeated to himself.

All it took was a little encouragement. He was glued to the ground, however. A mental trap where he couldn’t move.

_Move, go to the ocean. Get out, run!_

Wooyoung swallowed, finally taking a few steps forward and slowly sliding down the sands. His feet finally carried him to the water’s edge. It radiated warmth, and most of all, it was like he could barely identify the water. It was at the moment that he realized that the blue-ish green color he saw was a smoke cloud that hovered just a few inches above the surface.

What if it’s poisonous? Is this water safe? Oh God, there could be invisible fish… These were all thoughts Wooyoung had spit at him at once.

The mental trap was back, but this time he was gazing around at his surroundings. Back up the hill, nothing. Out in the ocean, just land and a building on the other side. To his left, more land. To his right… _What?_

Something peeked out from behind the hill just a ways down. Wooyoung paused to examine what little was viewable, but after biting his lip in anticipation, he picked up his feet and trodded through the sand.

His eyes were glued to the object, only focused on what it could be.

He felt something was off. So, he stopped walking and just paused to listen. And he was met with silence. After a quick confirmation of intuition, he felt okay and continued again.

Something moved off in the distance. He wasn’t near whatever that object was, but these movements alarmed him. Wooyoung tightened his shoulders and clung to himself. This movement suddenly came really quickly. There were many. Whatever these things were, they weren’t friendly.

Humanoid creatures ran at him. He realized a little too late that they were running _at_ him and all he understood was they saw him as prey.

For a moment, he was frozen…again. But his flight response kicked in and adrenaline began pumping through his veins like a tsunami. These things pounded the ground with their feet. With a quick glance back, he noticed them running on all fours.

_What kind of—_

A hard surface slammed into his body. He bounced back and fell to the ground. Sinking slowly into the sand. He’d only heard these noises in movies, but a clattering noise shook the ground, almost like a growl. Like a dragon almost.

But finally, his eyes snapped upwards and suddenly he felt sick. A huge being loomed over him. This thing had to be a giant, he guessed about 10 feet tall. It was all muscle. Pink scales with patches of human skin mixed in and the eyes…

The eyes took up a good chunk of this thing’s face, black and no white. Massive. Where the human jaw is was this thing’s mouth. Horns curled back from the sides of it’s head. For a brief moment, he glanced at its arms, they hung lower than humans’ arms, about as long as the creature’s legs. It really _was_ an alien. No ears, large and bulbous eyes, not at all like a human.

He swallowed a scream and simply gazed up at it, pausing to look while it did the same, turning its head to examine Wooyoung.

A smile grew on Wooyoung’s face, portraying to them that he was happy or at least thrilled. Although, his eyebrows said otherwise. He started giggling, but he had the slightest hint of doubt in his voice.

“Oh yeah nah, this is a joke, right? I have to be dreaming.” He pinched his arm and after nothing happening, he laughed a little and slowly looked back up at the creature.

They weren’t amused, to say the least. Wooyoung’s attempt at being humorous all of a sudden did him no good. The creature lifted a hand and one of its hairy fingers lightly grazed his forehead.

Why did he let it touch him?

A wave of fatigue hit him like a truck. His eyes suddenly drooped shut for a moment, but he opened them quickly.

Ah yeah, and that’s why he shouldn’t let things touch him.

Rustling was heard behind him, but he felt too tired to look back. Wooyoung’s head dropped slowly so his chin rested against his chest. But the voice erupted and pierced his ears. It had been so quiet before, so hearing a loud noise should have woken him up. But it didn’t.

“Wooyoung?!” the voice screeched.

And then darkness engulfed him.


	3. 3

Water could be heard swishing around, the sounds of moving through a body of water. His legs felt like jelly, and every so often the movement of his body atop the water forced his eyes to flitter open and closed.

Wooyoung felt his arms moving in the water, but he couldn’t control them. This was the first time he felt slightly conscious in who knows how long.

In what little he could see, he noticed the creature from earlier trodding through the water behind. And with nearly full consciousness, he blinked open his eyes and slowly looked up. Its eyes were bulbous and black and glanced at him only a few times. After a few moments, the creature moved forward to be closer to him, and once again it grazed his forehead with its finger.

As much as he wanted to resist this wave of fatigue, he couldn’t. And he was engulfed with darkness once again.

❀

Clattering sounds echoed around San. It was so loud he was forced awake. But when he opened his eyes, the clattering stopped.

In front of him stood a small one of these things. Instead of being 10 feet like the other ones, this one’s crouch gave San the idea that it was about as tall as he was. This whole encounter lasted maybe half a second, whereas the other half was San fully processing the creature and then nearly jumping out of his skin.

A yelp escaped his mouth and at the same time, he was pushing up against the wall as much as he could.

The creature jumped as well, moving backwards slightly. The two stopped for a second to examine one another.

“God…” San exasperated in both disgust and unease. “What are you?”

The creature paused for a second, looking off in the darkness before sitting back and quickly grabbing San’s hands. Surprisingly, San didn’t budge and just simply stared with his eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly open.

This creature stared at his hand and suddenly this blue light emerged from between their hands. San noticed and made an attempt to pulling his hand away, but the creature held on tighter. The light appeared like fire but it definitely didn’t feel like fire. It was still warm, but not a burning sensation.

The light dimmed until it disappeared entirely and that was when the creature pulled its hands away. It coughed. The way San might do when something was caught in his throat.

“Hi,” it croaked out.

San pushed himself against the wall again, fearing clutching his heart. His heart rate increased all of a sudden and he knew why.

“You can fucking talk?” San basically yelped again. “H-how can you speak my language?”

The creature widened his eyes and sat back a little further. San could just tell this thing’s mind was racing just as fast as his own. “Oh, me? I can…learn any language just by touching someone.”

San burst out laughing and relaxed into a forward lean. “You can what now? I call bullshit. That’s not possible.”

“Well,” it started, “we aren’t exactly on your home planet.”

“How the hell do you know what planet I’m from?” He realized a little too late that he grew defensive and almost offended, but he brushed those feelings away.

The beast blinked and the environment grew quiet again. At this moment, San got the opportunity to look around. How could he tell if this thing was friendly or not? This thing sure spoke in a gentle manner. _What’s he planning?_

There was a small light above him that illuminated all of San and just the front part of this beast. As he peered upward, he noticed the walls of this gray stone, but it was darker than concrete and felt kind of squishy, almost like memory foam.

San scoffed to himself amidst the silence. “Is everything on this planet squishy? What is this place?”

“My home,” said the beast flatly.

A low chattering was heard off in the distance and San assumed it was behind a wall off to his right. The two of them turned their heads. The beast’s posture suddenly changed, it grew straighter, and San read that it felt a pang of fear. The clattering grew a little louder and turned into more of a growl this time.

For some reason, San felt less scared than the beast. But without another word, the beast jumped up onto four legs and bolted away into the darkness. The sound of a door creaking came and went and San was once again left in the shadows.

The air seemed to be sucked out of the room. The quietness loomed over San and after the door creak ceased, he gathered himself together and hugged his knees. His skin crawled with goosebumps and he finally peered down only to see his own breath puff out of his lungs.

San shivered.

_I guess I should make myself comfortable._

❀

“Hey, wake up!”

Wooyoung was quite literally shaken from his sleep. His muscles tensed and soon he was jumping to his feet and stumbling around. His body was one step ahead of his eyes and mind. But a firm grasp on his head steadied him quickly.

Large fingers were wrapped around his scalp and he felt a slight pull on his hair. Not bad pressure, but just enough to cause his face to scrunch up. Wooyoung instinctively reached up to remove the fingers from his view, but the grasp tightened.

“Good, now that you’re awake, let’s get going,” someone said in a deep, booming voice. The ground seemed to buzz slightly when this person spoke.

Wooyoung wasn’t able to identify who it was, but the thing holding onto his head turned Wooyoung’s body to his left and he was shoved forward. The sand beneath him provided no steady surface to regain his balance, so his knees connected with the ground and his hands slowly sunk down into the blue sands.

He was able to look up and see the beasts from before looming above him. Their looks this time didn’t frighten him as much. But the largest one crawled over to him with the walk of an elephant and peered down at him. The look in this thing’s eyes showed no sign of respect or understanding for Wooyoung despite its eyes being completely black.

The beast reached down with a hand and picked him up by his shirt collar. Wooyoung was let slowly onto the ground, his feet propped nicely on the ground. And without another word, they moved forward. Wooyoung followed them with just a second delay, his gut tightened at the thought of being pushed around again.

As they walked, more of these beasts gathered around to stare at him. He was the newest show in town and they all wanted to see what the fuss was about. The direction they walked was the giant coliseum building. Although, he doubted that this building was similar to coliseums on Earth.

They entered through this large entrance, to him at least. These doors were slightly taller than these beasts, but to Wooyoung, he felt like an ant. Instead of swinging open, they shifted like a sliding door. Before they opened fully, he noticed strange writing on them, but they were completely indecipherable.

The coliseum wasn’t open in the middle. In fact, he failed to see the large castle part in the middle instead. The very top touched the clouds.

All he could do was gape at the height and beauty of this castle. But soon they were ushering him down some stairs, rather large stairs. He had to jump down many feet for each step and could barely keep up. And once again, he tripped over his own feet and stumbled to the ground. Not a second later, one of them lifted him into its hand and the group kept moving.

Wooyoung stared ahead and watched them turning and turning, all underground, until they reached the very end of this one hallway.

The doors slid open with a loud screeching sound. He was suddenly dropped from a large height. His impact with the ground made a crack sound, and pain shot up through his leg immediately. The beasts shoved him into this room.

Wooyoung gasped after this happened. Holding his breath to take in the pain, his legs tingled with pins and needles. On the cold ground, he held his knees and broke into a cry. Wet, hot tears rushing down his cheeks.

"Hello?” murmured a voice, nearly a whisper. In the dark.

By now, his night vision was on and Wooyoung peered around, still mid-cry. “Who is it?” Wooyoung cried out. Guilt quickly settled into his stomach.

_Oh God, that was a bad idea. What if something terrifying is in here?_

A light turned on a few feet from him. Wooyoung winced at the sudden light, eyes burning a little. After adjusting swiftly, he saw the face he had been waiting to see all along. Slim eyes, sharp nose, soft lips...His face sparkled beautifully in the small amount of light they had.

With a tear-streaked face, he settled momentarily to stare deeply at this person. Eyes locked made him feel relaxed. Nothing mattered all of a sudden.

“S-San?”


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. Almost a year since I updated. Busy with school and life in general. I had no clue where I wanted to go with this story, but I think I have some idea now, just going with the flow. I hope you enjoy!

“It’s me,” San breathed. He, too, was at the edge of crying. Wooyoung was staring deeply at him and saw tears filling to the brim of San’s eyes. 

San was carrying the light in his hand, more of a ball of light than a lantern. It crashed and rolled on the ground. In turn, San jumped from his knees and right into an embrace with him. Together, they rolled around and both let their tears fall, their shirts damp at the shoulders. 

Almost a few seconds after their impact together, Wooyoung winced with a gritted inhale. He realized that his knees were pulsing from the pain and hot under the skin. San bolted upright to stop and examine Wooyoung. 

“Are you okay?” San whispered. 

Wooyoung had been holding his breath, letting the pain overtake him. He let out a few coughs and slowly relaxed. “I-I don’t know exactly. It’s probably fine, so don’t worry.”

San’s mouth was slightly hung open and Wooyoung felt San’s mind racing with thoughts. A dulled expression with slight sunken eyes on San, Wooyoung stared to examine what San might possibly be thinking about. San quickly shifted from sitting on his knees to on his rear, scooting forward to bring Wooyoung closer. San reached back over for the ball of light, and with that in his hand, he began tearing Wooyoung’s already torn jeans. Underneath, it revealed nothing but red and swollen knees. A little scuffed from the cement-like ground. 

San breathed slowly, sitting back calmly. “It doesn’t look too bad. I don’t think your knees are broken.”

Wooyoung had his face scrunched the whole time. He grabbed the light from San and examined his own knees, finding the same results as San. “God…it’s so painful,” Wooyoung said through gritted teeth. His nails dug into the skin around the pain in an attempt to ease it. 

“We seem to be the only ones in here,” San remarked, his eyes gazing into the darkness with a craned neck.

Wooyoung’s heart beat loud enough to occupy the otherwise silent room. His heart ached from the adrenaline, but he stared around as well. “Yeah, I guess so.” 

A soft whisper in the darkness caught their attention. Goosebumps flooded their skins. A cold wind had crawled from wherever a vent was and unexpectedly controlled the room. Together, they analyzed the darkness around them, hoping that nothing was lurking in the corners. With Wooyoung hurt and San anxious to leave his side, they only stared. Silence engulfed the cell and signaled nothing else was with them.

Wooyoung felt himself holding his breath, still as a statue. _It's the whisper_. The fear that clung to his still, cold body began to itch, but he knew he couldn't move if he wanted to keep his life.

By that moment, it had been less than 10 minutes. A loud creaking, scratching sound pierced the room, just when their heartbeats were calming. Wooyoung wanted to relax, and thought he was, but it was truly an unfortunate timing. The two winced at the sound, but a moment later, it ceased. _It's playing with us_. 

Instead of one of those beasts, a large plate was shoved through a small opening, and then the door closed once again. 

San rapidly stood up, grabbed the light from Wooyoung, and walked over to the plate. Wooyoung sat where he had been before and stared blankly as San went to observe. San pushed up on his toes, but Wooyoung couldn’t read his face again. This was a first for Wooyoung. He's always been able to look at San and read his feelings quickly, analyzing his facial features within seconds and know where the stress came from and what he was feeling. San is easy to understand, but this time is different. The environment and everything surrounding them at the moment is different, but not being able to read San was the weirdest, and most dangerous, thing to Wooyoung. 

“What is it?” Wooyoung asked lightly. 

San rocked back onto his feet and back up to get another look. He stalled his response to be sure he would suggest a good possibility. “It could be chicken. But I don't trust whatever they brought us.”

He agreed. Whatever the hell these things were, they could not be trusted. That is, if they were really on an alien planet, which Wooyoung still doubted heavily. 

He stared at San trying to get a look at the contents of the plate. The situation he was in made for a tired, numb mind. The numbness lasted all of 3 seconds before sharp pain struck the entirety of his head. He winced in pain and overwhelmed with dizziness. It was as sudden as waking up on an alien planet. It was likely due to stress, but Wooyoung was beginning to doubt everything.

San jumped and pushed himself onto the plate, his loud movement pulled Wooyoung out of his stupor, the headache still there but now dulled. San made no reaction to Wooyoung's wincing. Considering the room was dead silent, he should have definitely heard a sharp inhale through gritted teeth. 

Shoes on porcelain was the only thing that could be heard in the chamber with their echoes following behind. San stood on the plate, not a prisoner anymore, but food to those creatures outside the cell walls. Wooyoung sighed.

San lowered himself into a crouch. With one forearm leaning on his knee and the other reaching forward, he grabbed at the piece of food and tore off a bit of it. He examined the bit in his hand with furrowed eyebrows and a frown. As he leaned forward to sniff the piece, its stench rushed through his nose and he scrunched his face further. 

“This is awful,” he frowned as he turned to Wooyoung.

Wooyoung blinked. What the hell would they eat? The thumping of thoughts against his skull skyrocketed and the pressure, immense enough to crush him, only increased. Wooyoung winced once again, this time a noise escaping his mouth and his arms flying to grab his head just to steady the room. 

San's footsteps on the plate when he jumped off were much less than when he got onto the plate. Wooyoung knew San was rushing to him with long strides. This time, he had definitely heard Wooyoung.

Wooyoung was blinded. The headache, more or less a migraine, blurred his vision with razor-sharp pain. 

San dropped by Wooyoung, his arms wrapping around Wooyoung's body. It was an affectionate gesture, Wooyoung knew, but he couldn't remember the last time San had acted this way with him. They were close as coworkers. Always having late nights together at work, testing technical issues and ensuring that problems in the building were fixed by the next day at the latest. Writing notes and submitting summary reports to the ones higher up. Functioning without light in the building was near impossible and a big inconvenience to the other employees if the problem were to continue the next day. It was important to know the problem and how to avoid the same issue in the future.

Wooyoung's mind was flooded with pain, the water only rising. San's gesture was noted and appreciated, but in no way a remedy to whatever was causing him anguish. 

"What happened?" San leaned his head to get a look at Wooyoung. His voice had raised. 

This headache was unlike any he's experienced before. Like late nights fixing lights and working primarily in the dark with flashlights was the only reasoning that came to mind for this headache. Though, this was no ordinary work night.

"Probably just a migraine." Wooyoung sighed, but as he cautiously opened his eyes, waiting for the pain to return, he looked at San's face. The small orb of light providing just enough to show that he was there. The orb was dimmer than it had been a few minutes ago. The orange consuming San's beautiful eyes with every passing minute. He analyzed further and knew what he was feeling. Wooyoung softened his expression, letting himself relax for the first time in a while. He could see San and all that he felt. This was the San he knew.

San's eyes dripped with anxiety. His eyebrows scrunched and mouth parted. With a quick inhale, San said, "Let's go sit somewhere you can relax a little."

Wooyoung looked down, a cloud of guilt now hanging over his head. Ready to rain down on him at any moment. He knew San loved his job and solving problems. He was smart, easy to read, and good at his job. It must be hard for San, being unable to help and find a solution for his friend. This situation wasn't something they ever learned in school or work training. Wooyoung hoped San knew this was something brand new and unable to be solved easily. This was no burden only on San's shoulders or a problem only for him to solve. It was a problem for the both of them.

He helped Wooyoung to his feet and together, orb of light in San's hand, they went to the wall, Wooyoung careful to put pressure on his knee. They sat together, San leaning against the wall, and Wooyoung resting on San's thighs.

Wooyoung's eyes stayed open, the fear that lingered still clung to his eyes and didn't let him rest. But he looked up at San when he felt his hand begin to pet his head. 

There was some hesitation before Wooyoung whispered, an attempt at finding his voice, but still a whisper nonetheless, "It's going to be okay." San closed his eyes tightly, holding back tears. But Wooyoung continued, "You don't have to fight this alone, got it? I'm not useless and I don't expect you to take care of me. I'm not something helpless and vulnerable—"

"I know," San interrupted. His voice much less of a whisper than Wooyoung's. "But they threw you and I saw how much pain you were in..." His eyes darted between Wooyoung's, focusing on each individually. "I'm sure they treated you less kindly than they treated me. But until you're better, I don't want you budding in and hurting yourself more."

Wooyoung frowned and turned his head back to the ceiling. Lying on the floor and returning to silence. At least for a moment. "I'll do what I want, San. It's not at all only your problem. But I'm glad you know that I'm not helpless." 

He knew San was smiling, ending the conversation there. They both knew they needed each other. And that was enough to satisfy both.

This was not at all like at the offices. But with San, this way or not, it was comforting. And this time, Wooyoung could close his eyes without pain.

❃


	5. 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * This is a flashback chapter!

❃

A printer rattled, grinding papers and spitting out inked documents. One after the other, papers were spitting out of the printer. The last paper, out of many, let the printer relax, buzzing and humming to reset the gears and parts before the noises ceased entirely.

Wooyoung pushed his chair back and stood up. The machine finished the last piece of the document by the time Wooyoung appeared, the humming disappearing with presence.

With rough hands, he grabbed the stack that lay face-down. His eyes scanned the paper for errors, flipping the pages over and over and shuffling them in their proper order, patting the pile into alignment with each other. The stapler to his left, the one that is always there, would do its job.

On a normal day.

Wooyoung slid the stack into the stapler and squeezed. The click was unsatisfying, as was the act of stapling. He slowly took away the stapler, only to find that it did not do was it was meant to. His mouth tightened into a thin line as he inhaled. The only good thing that day was the printer giving him all his documents without a single smudge of black ink or misaligned words. No error on the printer’s side. 

His arm dropped against the printer, staring up at the ceiling as if it was the 500th time that day. The same ceiling that has been there since he was hired. 

Today, San and Wooyoung stayed until the workday ended. The document, unstapled in his hand and a description of his tasks for the next week, would be a pain to carry around. As quickly as he had stood up from his desk, he removed his gaze on the ceiling to turn around and make his way back. 

San had been at his desk the whole time. Scribbling on his papers what he fixed in the building that day and any issues to be noted for the following week. Wooyoung returned to his desk, not sitting down, and took out his personal phone to check the time and any notifications he possibly could have.

Twenty hundred hours. He had been glancing at the clock on the far wall in front of him every so often since his lunch break, which was at thirteen hundred hours. His feet ached, even though he had been at his desk and sitting for about an hour. An hour of rest should be all he needs, he assumed, but a full day of walking and kneeling and climbing ladders would take longer to heal. 

Loud, muffled mumbling from the hallways caught his attention. Behind the textured glass were people, speaking rather loudly, and focused on each other and their conversation instead of their surroundings. Although, Wooyoung expected nothing less from this group.

One of them reached for the door handle, opening and letting himself, as well as the others, into the room. Their once muffled conversation also breaking through the door to make the room explode with noise, where it was otherwise completely silent.

“Hey! Are you both heading out, too?” This tall, red-haired employee had asked this question every week on Fridays. Wooyoung figured he would know the answer by now, but he understood why he would ask anyway. Things change and come up, but Wooyoung was feeling a hint of anger crawl under his skin. 

The building frustration was cut off when another spoke, “We’re headed to the bar. You coming?” A man gently pushed his way around the red-haired man. “This week is trivia night!” he sang.

“That sounds like fun,” San said, not a speck of actual excitement found.

In the corner by the door, another stood from his seat. Wooyoung glanced over, as did the rest, but his eyes darted to his badge quickly. A different design than San’s or Wooyoung’s. Even the desk he sat at was disconnected from the rest. The badge, in a standard professional font, read _Jeong Yunho_. 

Despite his rank and the assumption of him being arrogant and rude, Wooyoung came to know him as quite the opposite. Yunho blinked and rocked on his feet at the sudden rush of eyes on him, and said, “That does sound fun. But I think Hongjoong and I were going to stay, at least for a little bit, to finish up some designing.” He always smiled, even a little, as that was part of his job. Working with Hongjoong, or even giving presentations and under immense pressure, he was always smiling with upturned corners. 

_Kim Hongjoong_ , as his badge read and who was also sitting by him with the desk littered with papers, nodded.

“We won’t be long,” Yunho reassured. “See you there?”

The red-haired man blinked, mouth ajar, and hesitant on speaking. As for the reason, Wooyoung didn’t know. They were close as both coworkers and friends. As he turned to glance at the others behind him, Wooyoung caught a glance at his badge. In the same professional font, the name read, _Song Mingi_. 

“That’s perfectly fine with us, right?” Wooyoung watched him with sharp eyes, noticing that even then, Mingi was always nervous. He was good at his job, and deserves his position, but Wooyoung stares and always wonders how he could be anxious all the time. Even when he claims he isn’t nervous, Wooyoung sees through the lie. 

“I think I’ll stay, too,” San added quickly. 

“Why?” Wooyoung asked, a little too quickly and too demanding. The frustration levels under his skin were burning, but none were because of San. He reminded himself all day that the world is against him today, but his friends weren’t.

San blinked, suddenly adopting Mingi’s nervous figure as his own for being put on the spot. His voice when he spoke mimicked Wooyoung’s rash tone, “I have work to do. I don’t want it to bleed into next week.”

Wooyoung, with a dismissive inhale, turned his head to his other three friends that stood anxiously waiting to leave. “I’ll meet you in the lot, I just need to pack up my things.” The smile he made was anything but pleasing, and the three reacted to his sarcastic smile with a silent yet uncomfortable shift in their stances.

“Oh,” one of them faltered. His badge read, _Kang Yeosang_. “Sounds good! We won’t leave without you.” 

The final friend, whose badge read, _Park Seonghwa_ , contributed nothing to their conversation that moment. Although, he always joined the group to the bar on Friday nights anyway.

By the time Mingi, Yeosang, and Seonghwa left, there were four left. 

Silence hung over the room like a cloud. Thundering and growing every minute, lightning building with a low buzz, until the silence is broken, causing the cloud to vanish. Wooyoung wished his frustrations would vanish like that cloud, but his frustrations were not as hidden as the cloud.

“It’s been a rough week, San. You should come with us. Relax a little.” San’s gaze was burning into his skin. While he was not looking at him, he could read San like a book and knew that both he and Wooyoung were in bad moods. He could feel the silence cloud coming back with every item he shoved into his bag with more force than he needed to be considered “calm.” 

San had been staring at him with intense focus. Wooyoung packed everything into his bag, except for that unstapled document, and looked up to his coworker across his desk, staring back with equal flare. 

San inhaled sharply. “I have work to do,” he paused, “like I said before.” The chair San sat in creaked as he shifted himself to a more comfortable position, ending the conversation as he ripped his gaze away from Wooyoung.

In the corner of the room, Yunho cleared his throat. Him and Hongjoong murmuring plans to each other, pointing at drawings, and quickly erasing any mistakes. Wooyoung kept his eyes on San for a brief moment before lifting his unnecessarily heavy backpack and walking out. Leaving the door open behind him. 

The way to the exit was not a long walk, but definitely not short enough. His hands were on his backpack straps the entirety of the walk, his eyes glued to his feet. The day was rough. Maybe they both woke up in a bad mood, or they were drifting apart from each other in less than a day. Quick enough to cause whiplash, and a sharp stab of a developing migraine.

Wooyoung hissed through his teeth, his head developing a sudden sharp pain that he could feel pulsing beneath his skin. His hand reached up to his head to make it stop, but the pain was gone by then. 

He continued.

Still unsure of what was causing San this much distress and desire to continue working, Wooyoung turned the corner and began descending the stairs. The thoughts and questions coming to his mind frequently. The fourth floor took some time to get down from and his friends were waiting, so his feet picked up pace. He needed to visit his friends and let loose for the night.

Out in the lot stood the three men, as well as one more. Their badges were all off, but the other man dressed in a suit much nicer than the other suits in the party. Especially Wooyoung’s rolled up sleeves and no tie.

“How’s it going, Wooyoung?” the man began, his voice thundering and soft as honey. This man was _the_ CEO, and his voice was definitely soothing and loud enough to make the employees follow his every move.

Wooyoung noticed the hand stretched out to him, and he took the man’s hand in his own and shook with firmness. “It’s going well, President Jongho.” Wooyoung’s smile softened compared to in the office, and he felt much more genuine and calmer. The feeling he wants.

Jongho laughed, their hands parting, and turned to the other three. “No need to call me that outside work hours! We’ve known each other for long enough to be a little more casual when not working.” Wooyoung kept his friendly smile, but noticed Jongho still had his business posture and tone. 

Seonghwa piped in, the first words Wooyoung had heard from him all day, “Shall we?” His hands gesturing towards the street behind them. 

Yeosang and Mingi cheered and applauded, Mingi skipping ahead of the rest. Their views on the past week compared to Wooyoung was very different. Wooyoung, being one of the two lower employees, fell back from the group. Although, he managed to squeeze himself into Yeosang's car with Jongho, Mingi, and Seonghwa. The fear of being left behind had dissipated. The crew managed to fit the five into one car, leaving the other cars behind at least for a little while.

The group made it to the bar after a drive of 30 minutes. Wooyoung had joined the conversation after a while into the drive, the five switching between topics quickly and mixing some laughs with gossip in the workplace. Jongho advised them to keep the gossip to their own groups of friends, and not between coworkers, but the group continued gossiping with more vague descriptions.

The bar was humming with voices as it was always busy on Fridays. Tonight was trivia night, so it was extra busy. Louder voices and less tables available. However, a kind employee found a booth for them towards the back. They settled in, spread out for the time being until the final three arrived, and then were offered drinks to start.

“You doing okay, Wooyoung?” Yeosang had asked once the waiter left, rather soft and quiet, but loud enough to get Wooyoung’s attention. “You seemed upset.”

The others had looked at him for a moment, waiting for his answer, but Wooyoung quickly responded, “Oh, I am doing well! Let’s just have some fun, yeah?” His held out his fist, the others joining in to bump knuckles and ignoring Wooyoung's dissmissiveness. 

After their drinks arrived and they selected their food, two figures appeared at the front of the table. Their jackets over their arms and small bags or backpacks as well. Their work bags were already piling under the table, but they squeezed together to make room for Yunho and Hongjoong. 

The booth, being in the back of a rather large bar, had close to no view of the front doors. Yet Wooyoung caught himself searching for San by scanning the aisles of tables around them and any possible way he could come in. 

“Yeah,” Hongjoong’s voice cut in to pull Wooyoung back, “Yunho and I have started on designing the new aircraft. The team came together and brainstormed ideas, but the day ended so quickly that we had to stay at least a while longer.”

Jongho nodded along, fully engaged in their conversation. “That’s excellent! That is something very important to even beginning our project. I hope you and Yunho get some rest at least, seeing that it’s a heavy task to take on. Good work.”

Hongjoong chuckled, stammering and fumbling over his words as he said, “Well, i-it is my job. I...think staying late is not an awful thing to do.” His face slowly began to redden at the cheeks.

“But you don’t want to be there all weekend!” Wooyoung whined. He rolled his head back with a frown, turning his eyes to Hongjoong sitting next to him. “You’d miss out on trivia night, which is _not_ something I think you should miss!”

“Speaking of,” their eyes turned to Seonghwa as he entered the conversation with a lower tone, “did San mention he was coming tonight? He said he wanted to stay late, but…”

The group shrugged. There was no hint or idea of San’s plans. But he would sure miss a good night of trivia. 

“He’s been a little overwhelmed. I can see it on his gorgeous face.” Yeosang developed puppy eyes for a split second, until he continued in a more serious tone, “We all have our bad weeks. But I think we shouldn’t worry.”

Yunho raised a cautious hand to say, “He left before we did. Didn’t say where he was going.”

Wooyoung hummed, looking down at the half-empty plates everyone had in front of them. “That’s odd. I wonder where he could be...”

Mingi, who was half-passed out from already downing two soju bottles, rolled up to a better posture to burp out, “He’s missing out! He can’t do that to us!”

With a few chuckles, Yeosang gently patted Mingi’s shoulder, careful to touch him at all in case he had some terrible disease that was contagious. Tipsy Mingi couldn’t grasp onto the hint that Yeosang wanted to remove him from his space, and ended up leaning dead onto Yeosang. He croaked out some sound of surprise before mimicking a cry of discomfort.

Hongjoong leaned in to move Mingi off Yeosang, but Wooyoung’s eyes were back to scanning for San. A few hours had passed since they left San at the office, and he's still nowhere to be found. 

But he has always said that Friday nights were never fun without all eight.

❃


End file.
